The Duke – Time Rewind

On This Day April 29

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On This Day October 15

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Celebrity Birthdays

1924 – Former Chrysler Corp. Chairman and Ford Motor Co. President Lee Iacocca (d. 2019)

1937 – Actress-singer Linda Lavin (“Alice”)

1943 – Actress-director Penny Marshall (“Laverne & Shirley,” “Big,” “Awakenings,” “A League of Their Own,” “Riding in Cars With Boys”) (d. 2018)

1946 – Singer-songwriter Richard Carpenter of the 1970s sibling pop duo, the Carpenters

1959 – Sarah Ferguson (“Fergie”), Duchess of York

1959 – TV chef-restaurateur Emeril Lagasse

History Highlights

1863 – The H.L. Hunley, the world’s first successful combat submarine, sinks during a test run, killing its inventor and seven crew members. The vessel is recovered, and four months later, becomes the first submarine to destroy a ship (USS Housatonic) in battle.

1915 – Exotic dancer and spy Mata Hari is executed by a French firing squad after it was discovered that she also worked for the Germans.

1951 – Television’s first, long-running, sitcom hit, “I Love Lucy,” debuts, starring comedian Lucille Ball and her real-life husband, Desi Arnaz. The half-hour show runs for six seasons on CBS, becoming one of the most beloved and enduring TV comedies of all time.

1966 – With the stroke of his pen, President Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) creates the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

1989 – During a game against his old team, the Edmonton Oilers, Canadian ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky breaks Gordie Howe’s National Hockey League career scoring record of 1,850 points.

1990 – Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev wins the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end Cold War tensions with the United States.

1991 – After a bitter confirmation hearing, the U.S. Senate votes 52 to 48 to confirm Clarence Thomas as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Musical Milestones

1930 – Legendary composer and bandleader Duke Ellington (a.k.a. “The Duke”) records his first big hit, “Mood Indigo.” Ellington explained that he wrote the the track, originally titled “Dreamy Blues,” in 15 minutes while waiting for his mother to finish cooking dinner.

1964 – Composer Cole Porter, whose musical notes fill much of the Great American Songbook, dies at the age of 73.

1966 – The Four Tops hit No.1 on the singles chart with “Reach Out And I’ll Be There.”

1973 – Ten years after her death, Patsy Cline (“Walkin’ After Midnight,” “I Fall to Pieces,” “Crazy,” “Sweet Dreams”) becomes the first female solo performer to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

1977 – Debby Boone begins 10 weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “You Light Up My Life.”

1983 – “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” by Bonnie Tyler, is in the middle of four weeks as a Billboard chart-topper.

1988 – UB40’s version of the Neil Diamond song “Red, Red Wine” spends a week on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1994 – Boyz II Men are in the midst of a 14-week ride atop the pop chart with “I’ll Make Love to You.”

2006 – CBGB, the iconic New York City nightclub considered the birthplace of the punk rock movement, closes its doors after 33 years of business. The club, nestled in Manhattan’s East Village, helped launch the careers of such pioneering artists as the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, Patti Smith Group and Joan Jett.

On this Day May 24

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Celebrity Birthdays

1941 – Grammy, Golden Globe and Oscar-winning singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, born Robert Zimmerman

1943 – Actor Gary Burghoff, most remembered for playing Radar O’Reilly in the movie and CBS sitcom “M*A*S*H”

1944 – Grammy Hall of Fame vocalist Patti LaBelle, most remembered for her 1974 smash, “Lady Marmalade”

1945 – Actress-business magnate Priscilla Presley, who performed in the “Naked Gun” movie series and the prime-time TV series “Dallas”

1955 – Grammy winning singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash (“Seven Year Ache,” “I Don’t Know Why You Don’t Want Me”)

1960 – Actress Kristin Scott Thomas (“Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “The English Patient,” “The Horse Whisperer,” “Gosford Park,” “Nowhere Boy”)

1965 – Actor John C. Reilly (“Boogie Nights,” “Chicago,” “Talladega Nights,” “Step Brothers,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “The Sisters Brothers,” Stan & Ollie”)

History Highlights

1775 – Meeting in Philadelphia, the Second Continental Congress unanimously elects John Hancock of Massachusetts as president. That is why Hancock has the honor of being the first to sign the Declaration of Independence.

1883 – New York’s iconic Brooklyn Bridge opens, concluding a 14-year, $18 million construction project that cost more than two dozen workers their lives. The span links the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan across the East River.

1899 – The first public parking garage in the U.S. opens in Boston as part of the Back Bay Cycle & Motor Company. It is advertised as a “stable for renting, sale, storage and repair of motor vehicles.”

1935 – Major League Baseball’s first night game is played at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the Reds beating the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1.

1976 – Service aboard the Concorde supersonic (SST) airliner begins between London and Washington, D.C.

1991 – “Thelma & Louise,” starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis and directed by Ridley Scott, opens in U.S. movie theaters. The film earns six Academy Award nominations, including Best Director for Scott and Best Actress for both Sarandon and Davis, but wins for Best Original Screenplay. It introduces a young, unknown Brad Pitt and becomes a fixture of American pop culture with the two main characters representing strong women overcoming obstacles in a male-dominated world.

1991 – The firefighting drama “Backdraft,” starring Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Robert De Niro, Scott Glenn and Donald Sutherland, and directed by Ron Howard, opens in U.S. theaters. The film goes on to receive three Academy Award nominations.

Musical Milestones

1952 – “Blue Tango,” an instrumental composed and conducted by Leroy Anderson, tops the Billboard pop chart.

1969 – “Get Back,” by The Beatles with Billy Preston, begins five weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. A different mix of the song is later produced as the final track of the “Let It Be” album, the band’s last album, released just after breaking up.

1974 – Legendary jazz composer, pianist and bandleader Duke Ellington dies of lung cancer and pneumonia at the age of 75. “The Duke’s” career spanned more than half a century, during which he composed thousands of songs for the stage, screen and contemporary songbook.

1975 – Earth Wind & Fire climb to the top of the singles chart with “Shining Star,” the group’s first and only No. 1 in the U.S. The track goes on to capture a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

1986 – Whitney Houston reigns over the Billboard Hot 100 with “Greatest Love of All.”

1997 – “MMMBop,” by Hanson, kicks off three weeks on top of the pop chart. The band consists of three brothers from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

1997 – The Spice Girls land reach No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with their debut production, “Spice.” They become the third all-female band to ever top the album chart, after The Supremes and The Go-Go’s.

2003 – Sean Paul wraps up three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart with “Get Busy.”